GEORGETOWN, Texas — A 28-year-old man has been formally charged with capital murder in the stabbing deaths of two men whose bodies were found inside and outside a home that was later set ablaze, authorities said.
Justice Marquez Washington was indicted Tuesday in the Dec. 5 killings of James William Yost, 76, and Kenneth Michael Wade Clanton, 33, at a residence in the Sun City neighborhood. Police said video and physical evidence helped link Washington to the slayings in the 300 block of Pipe Creek Lane. The Georgetown Police Department’s investigation showed both victims suffered fatal wounds from a cutting instrument before the fire was started.
First responders discovered Yost’s body in the front yard after neighbors reported smoke and a fire alarm. Clanton’s body was found inside the burning home. Investigators later determined the fire was intentionally set.
Security footage from the night of the incident, obtained by police, shows an argument between Washington and Clanton in the kitchen, followed by sounds consistent with a violent struggle. At one point, police said, Clanton could be heard calling for help. The video then captures Washington exiting the house and stabbing Yost outside.
Washington was already in custody on unrelated charges — including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault causing bodily injury and unauthorized use of a vehicle — after an unrelated incident in Georgetown on Dec. 7, law enforcement officials said. He had been jailed in Williamson County since the day after the homicides.
Police served an arrest warrant for Washington after reviewing security footage and other physical evidence recovered from the crime scene. He is being held in the Williamson County Jail on a collective bond that now includes his capital murder charge.
Court records show Justice Marquez Washington and Kenneth Michael Wade Clanton were involved in an intimate relationship, and all three men had been living in the same Georgetown home prior to the killings. Family members have acknowledged tensions within the household, though investigators have not publicly detailed what led up to the violence.
Legal proceedings are now moving forward, and Washington is expected to appear in court for initial hearings on the capital murder charge. In Texas, a capital murder conviction can carry the most severe punishment allowed under state law, including life in prison or the death penalty.
Prosecutors must present evidence at a probable cause hearing before the case can proceed toward trial. Washington’s defense attorneys are expected to review the prosecution’s evidence, including the security footage and forensic findings, and may file pre-trial motions challenging aspects of the case.
The double homicide has drawn intense local attention in the typically quiet Georgetown retirement community as investigators continue to piece together the events leading up to the fatal stabbings and fire.
